The invention relates to a profile connector for connecting together a pair of profile bars each having at least one undercut longitudinal groove running parallel to the respective profile bar axis (i.e., the longitudinal central axis).
EP 0458069 A1 and DE 4016320 C1 disclose three-part profile connectors which include a sleeve-like counter-bearing piece with a male thread. The male thread is a self-cutting thread so that the counter-bearing piece can be screwed into a longitudinal groove of a profile threaded bar without having to precut a thread. In the assembled state, the sleeve-like counter-bearing piece is penetrated by a screw having a male thread. The screw head of the screw is supported against the counter-bearing piece on its face, and the two are screwed together with a sliding block that is accommodated in a second longitudinal groove of a second profile bar. The sliding block engages behind a second longitudinal groove undercut.
The disadvantage of these known profile connectors is that they consist of multiple parts (e.g., three individual pieces). They are also difficult to assemble. In particular, finding the female threaded borehole of the sliding block with the screw can be difficult since the borehole is not visible with the profile bars resting perpendicularly, one on top of the other.
DE 10200964 B4 describes another three-part profile connector, which includes a tool for precutting a female thread into a first longitudinal groove of a first profile bar so that a threaded sleeve can then be screwed into the female thread. As with the previously noted designs, this design suffers from the disadvantage of multiple pieces, and again, the fact that finding the female threaded borehole in the accompanying sliding block with the screw of the profile connector can be difficult in practice. Additional three-part profile connectors are also described in EP 1589236 B1, DE 202004004741 U1 and DE 202005004374 U1. Further, EP 15892361 discloses an arrangement in which the self-forming male thread of the counter-bearing piece (i.e., the sleeve) is not a cut thread, but rather is a self-forming rolled thread without cutting edges, so that when turned into the first longitudinal groove, the sleeve-like counter-bearing piece forms a mating thread in the longitudinal groove via non-cutting, compressive material displacement.
The disadvantage of all the aforementioned profile connectors is that they include multiple parts, and they suffer from the difficulty of finding the female threaded borehole of the sliding block with the male threaded screw.